Naruto: The Uchiha They Should Have Killed

"No matter where you go, there are always people like that."

Uchiha Ren sighed again after hearing Yakushi Nono's explanation. He finally understood what she meant.

Those who work in intelligence must naturally possess a higher level of loyalty than ordinary shinobi.

However, most of the personnel in Root's intelligence network were not loyal to Shimura Danzō—

their loyalty belonged to Konoha.

As long as Ren stood on the side of righteousness, taking control of Root's intelligence system would not be difficult.

Nono continued:

"And for me, this is actually a good thing."

"I know many people within Root's intelligence network personally. If I can help them now, it will fulfill a long-standing wish of mine."

Yakushi Nono had never been just another undercover operative within Root's intelligence network.

She had once served as a regional supervisor, and she had also been responsible for training intelligence operatives.

She had connections with many people inside the network.

Otherwise, she would never have been able to escape Danzō's control so easily.

After escaping that suffering, Nono had always cared deeply about those still trapped within Root's intelligence system.

She even felt a sense of guilt toward them.

Now that she had the opportunity to help them—

she would not give it up.

At the very least, she believed that under her leadership, the people within Root's intelligence network would live far better lives than they had under Shimura Danzō.

She would do everything in her power to ensure that they could land safely after Root's collapse.

"That sounds like a lot of work for you."

Since Nono clearly did not reject the responsibility, Ren said nothing further.

Soon afterward, Ren led the Konoha Military Police Force to rescue the hundreds of children being held inside the Root base.

The children varied greatly in age.

The oldest were only eleven or twelve years old.

The youngest were barely three or four.

And deciding what to do with them was an enormous problem.

Although Root trained children for many different roles, the majority were cultivated as future ANBU operatives.

More than eighty percent of the children had been trained in this direction.

Another reason for this was the extremely high casualty rate involved in such training.

Under Danzō's methods, out of these several hundred children—

fewer than one hundred would survive.

Perhaps even fewer than fifty.

Although they were still of an age that should have placed them in the Ninja Academy, most of these children had already seen blood.

Their mental states were abnormal.

They could not be treated like ordinary children.

Watching the Military Police escort groups of children out of the base, Ren rubbed his temple with a headache.

"I'm starting to regret this."

"Are you really sure putting them together with the children from the Konoha Orphanage is a good idea?"

According to Ren's original plan, these children were supposed to be handed over to Yakushi Nono and taken to the orphanage.

She had plenty of experience dealing with such matters.

But after learning about their situation, Ren began to hesitate.

Using an imperfect analogy:

If the children raised in loving families within Konoha were sheep,

then the orphans at the Konoha Orphanage—who had long experienced hardship and the harshness of life—were more like wild dogs.

Under Nono's management, the orphanage was peaceful.

But some realities could not be avoided.

The orphanage had very few caretakers.

With one adult responsible for many children, it was impossible to treat everyone equally or give every child perfect attention.

As a result, the children there were extremely independent.

They knew how to compete for resources.

And that was exactly why Ren was worried.

Because the children rescued from Root were not sheep.

They were not even wild dogs.

They were wolves.

If they did not compete, perhaps things would remain calm.

But if conflict broke out—

people would die.

Nono naturally understood Ren's concern.

After a moment of silence, she said:

"I took a look earlier. Quite a few of these children actually belong to different ninja clans within the village."

"For now, I'll perform an initial psychological evaluation."

"The children whose conditions are relatively stable can be returned to their respective clans."

"That should reduce the burden on the orphanage significantly."

After a brief pause, she added:

"But you should also talk to Minato."

"The Konoha Orphanage needs additional funding and personnel support."

"This mess was created by the village."

"As Hokage, he cannot avoid responsibility."

Ren thought about it for a moment before replying:

"In that case… since we're already asking the village for help, we might as well be completely transparent."

"At the next village council meeting, I'll propose an official motion to place the Konoha Orphanage under the village's administrative structure."

"We'll formally establish its relationship with Konoha."

"This responsibility belonged to the village in the first place."

"It will benefit the village as well."

"Besides, part of the village's financial management currently falls under the Uchiha clan, so passing this proposal shouldn't be too difficult."

Nono's face immediately lit up with joy.

At present, the Konoha Orphanage was essentially a private institution.

Most of its funding came from Nono personally seeking donations.

That was also why Shimura Danzō had been able to threaten her so easily using the orphanage.

After all—

aside from Nono herself, no one in the village really cared about the orphanage.

Even if Danzō harmed it, he would likely face no real punishment.

But if the orphanage became an official administrative institution of Konoha—

then it would become part of the village itself.

Anyone with malicious intentions would have to consider the power of Konoha before acting.

At the same time, having the village as its supporter would greatly benefit the orphanage's future development.

This had always been one of Nono's greatest wishes.

Seeing the happiness on her face, Ren added:

"Don't celebrate too early."

"It's obvious that the orphanage situation will be both urgent and complicated."

"And the matter of Root's intelligence network is just as urgent."

"You'd better find someone—or several people—to help manage the orphanage."

"Otherwise, even if you split yourself in half, it still won't be enough."

Nono nodded.

"Don't worry."

"Actually, Rin can temporarily take responsibility for the orphanage."

"She's very capable. Before, she had to remain hidden, so she couldn't step forward."

"But now that her identity has been revealed, there's no problem anymore."

Ren nodded.

"As long as you have a plan."

"I'll also keep an eye out for suitable candidates…"

At that moment—

Whoosh!

A figure dressed in ANBU gear suddenly appeared before Ren.

Ren stopped speaking and turned toward the shinobi.

"Lord Ren," the ANBU operative said respectfully, "Lord Minato requests your presence."

"I understand."

Ren responded briefly.

After giving a few final instructions to Nono, he turned and headed toward the exit of the Root base.

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